The present invention relates to vehicle doors, in particular car (automobile) doors.
Known vehicle doors are generally manufactured by securing an inner panel to an outer panel using techniques such as hemming or welding. This provides the structure of the vehicle door, with the upper section of the vehicle door comprising an aperture in which the window glass is housed, and the lower section of the door being used to house additional components such as a window regulator mechanism, which guides and operates the window glass, and a window regulator motor which powers the window regulator mechanism.
It is difficult to form a waterproof seal between the upper edge of the outer panel and the window glass, and consequently water running down the window glass can penetrate this seal and enter the area between the inner panel and the outer panel.
The inner panel defines a barrier between a wet side of the door, outboard of the inner panel, and a dry side of the door, inboard of the inner panel. The inner panel is used to mount the window regulator motor and window regulator mechanism.
Since the window regulator mechanism guides and locates the window glass, known vehicle doors include window regulator mechanisms which are located on the wet side of the door.
The window regulator motor can be located on either the wet or dry side of the door. However since the output shaft of the window regulator motor requires careful alignment with the window regulator mechanism, to achieve this aim it is desirable to locate them both on the same side of the door, and hence locate the window regulator motor on the wet side of the door.
This aids functional alignment, but potentially exposes the window regulator motor and in particular its connector terminals, to moisture. To avoid moisture affecting the motor and terminals considerable sealing is employed, which is costly.
As an alternative, known vehicle doors generally locate the window regulator motor on the dry side of the door to reduce the sealing requirement, but this provides additional alignment problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved vehicle door in which the connector terminals of the window regulator motor are less prone to be affected by moisture.
Thus, according to the present invention there is provided a vehicle door including a window regulator motor and an inner panel, the window regulator motor including a connector housing, the connector housing including connector terminals, in which the connector housing is sealed against the inner panel via sealing means.
Advantageously this permits both the window regulator mechanism and the window regulator motor to be located on the wet side of the door thus aiding functional alignment and the potential for providing subassemblies of door components prior to assembly of the door.
Advantageously this reduces the degree of sealing required for the window regulator motor.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of assembling a vehicle door comprising, providing a vehicle door with an inner panel, providing a window regulator motor including a connector housing, the connector housing including connector terminals, providing sealing means, providing a harness having a harness connector, assembling the window regulator motor onto the inner panel such that the sealing means seals the connector housing relative to the inner panel, and subsequently connecting the harness connector to the connector terminals.
Advantageously this prevents the connector terminals from being exposed to the wet side of the vehicle door prior to connecting the harness connector.